Teachers in York Region to hold one-day strike Thursday

Rotating teacher strikes are set to begin this week with some teachers in the GTA expected to walk off the job.

A letter obtained by CTV Toronto confirms that teachers in York Region will hold a one-day strike on Thursday.

The letter, sent out Sunday morning, reads: “York Region members will withdraw all services and be picketing on Thursday, Dec. 13.”

Teachers are expected to learn of the picket location by Monday evening.

The Ontario-wide rotating strikes will begin Monday with school boards in Timmins, Cochrane, Stratford and Wingham.

On Tuesday, teachers in the Niagara area will strike, while Ottawa and Carleton elementary schools will experience strikes on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, high school students across the GTA are planning to show their dissatisfaction with the ongoing rift between teachers and the province, which has led to teachers opting out of after-school activities.

A number of student walk-outs are scheduled for Monday.

“We’re trying to tell people that it’s not OK to use students as pawns in their games, because it’s not our fight but we’re the ones suffering,” Sir John A. MacDonald Collegiate student Victoria Wensley told CTV Toronto.